880,000 poor people reported in Armenia in 2016 – NSS survey

In 2016, poverty rate in Armenia was 29.4% as compared to 27.6% recorded in 2008, the report “Social Snapshot and Poverty in Armenia” released by the National Statistical Service of Armenia (NSS) showed.

The report that focuses on living standards and social conditions in the country between 2008 and 2016, indicates that the share of the very poor in 2016 was 9.8% as compared to 12.6% in 2008. The share of the extremely poor in 2016 was 1.8% as compared to 1.6% observed in 2008. According to the source, the overall poverty rate and the rate of extremely poor in 2016 were still higher in Armenia than in 2008 increased by 1.8 and the 0.2 percentage points respectively. At the same time, following the economic crisis, the number of poor declined by 2.9 percentage points to compare with 2008 data.

Among the total 29.4% share of poor population, 8.0% are very poor (excluding the extremely poor) and 1.8% are extremely poor, while the remaining 19.6% are just poor.

The number of the poor in 2016 was around 880 thousand (per resident population), of
whom around 295 thousand were very poor (including the extremely poor), and of the latter around 54 thousand were extremely poor.

The released data suggest that in 2016, poverty rate differed insignificantly by urban (28.8%) and rural (30.4%) communities. Nonetheless, that difference is quite significant between Yerevan (24.9%) and other urban communities (33.2%).

The estimated poverty gap in 2015 was 4.3% as compared to 5.1% in 2008 (a decrease of 0.4 percentage points), whereas the estimated poverty severity which reflects inequality among the poor per consumption was 1.1% as compared to 1.4% in 2008 (a decrease of 0.3 percentage points).

Over the period of 2004-2016, poverty rate declined by 45%, from around 53.5% to 29.4%, and extreme poverty rate declined by 59%, from 4.4% to 1,8%.

In 2015, the total – both upper and lower – and the extreme poverty lines per adult equivalent per month were estimated to be AMD 40 867 (USD 84.19), AMD 33,418 (USD 68.84) and AMD 23,313 (USD 48.02) respectively.

Over 2008-2016, the key factor behind the increase in the poverty rate was the deep recession of the economy in 2009, the report said.